Beyond the peel: Biorefinery approach of other banana residues as a springboard to achieve the United Nations' sustainable development goals

In global exports, the commodity banana generates billions of dollars annually, a market which is accompanied by the discard of extraordinary amounts of valuable agricultural material from banana trees, mainly pseudostems, leaves, and hearts (banana inflorescence). The recovery of high-added value natural compounds from agri-food by-products is an emerging topic with plentiful research focused on extraction techniques for the biomass valorization, highlighting the circular economy concept. In this context, the present review discusses the current uses and processing of the most abundant banana tree agricultural wastes (pseudostems, leaves and inflorescence). Multiple extractives and applications were investigated considering the banana type, physical-chemical characteristics, and co-product treatments. Strategic areas for human development, such as food, pharmaceutical, civil construction, energy, and fibers, are addressed in association with the use of banana biomasses, and correlated with the United Nations Sus-tainable Development Goals. Finally, the social and environmental areas mostly impacted by the green chemistry and biorefinery were also highlighted for the banana industrial chain.